Literacy Class

PATERSON LITERACY CLASS IS MONEY IN THE BANK

By HEATHER APPEL, HERALD NEWS |
05/22/08 02:00 AM

PATERSON -- When Miryam "Gaby" Rinkerman started developing adult education
programs for the Paterson Community Technology Center, she identified some
urgent needs in Paterson's Hispanic community. One was computer training.

Another was financial literacy -- how to create a budget, build a credit
history and avoid predatory lenders.

Rinkerman, the center's director, labored over a curriculum for each one.
When the classes began, the computer class was overflowing, but the financial
literacy workshop was almost empty.

She decided to combine the two, and three years later, "Computación y
Finanzas" -- computers and finances -- is one of the most popular courses at the
center, which is an extension of Passaic County Community College.

"After the first class, everybody gets hooked," Rinkerman said.

There was some initial resistance. "People don't think they need it until
they're really in trouble," she said. Many come from countries where they didn't
trust the banks and are still operating with cash.

"They have the money under mattresses, or they go to check-cashing places,"
Rinkerman said. "Some people were very proud to say they didn't have any credit
cards -- 'I pay cash.' I told them, in this country, you don't exist."

The students seem to be taking those lessons to heart. On a recent rainy
evening, 15 people filed into a classroom on Memorial Drive where a projector
screen displayed the lesson of the day -- "Your Credit: What You Need to Know."

Before the lesson began, Rinkerman and instructor Julio Villavicencio tested
the students with a fake credit card offer. A table displayed four digital
cameras and a handful of applications, and Rinkerman announced that the students
could win a camera just for applying.

Nobody jumped at the offer. Right away, a man asked what the annual fee was.
A woman asked about the interest rate. Another complained that she's still
paying off the last one she canceled.

"I'm going to tell you the truth," Rinkerman said. "There are no cameras, no
credit card. We just wanted to see if you'd fall in the trap. Wherever you go,
there are people offering little gifts if you apply for a credit card."

Villavicencio was impressed that nobody was enticed this time. "You've
learned to say, 'No, no, no. Explain it to me better,'" he said.

Sonia Cadavid, a small-business owner in Paterson, is not a stranger to
credit, but she has been delighted with the first few sessions of the class.

"I'm 56, and I had never done a budget," she said. The computer training made
her feel comfortable enough to set up a Web site for her Avon sales. "All I knew
was how to turn on the computer."

"I was afraid of the computer," said Martha Patricia Velez. "And in the first
few classes we've had, I've learned what a computer is, what is Windows, how to
open and close windows, how to position my hands. ..."

Banking was also foreign to Velez, a mother of three who lives in Paterson.
She learned how to choose a bank account with no hidden fees. "These are things
we never pay attention to because our husband is in charge," she said.

The classes include a mix of men and women from different ages and
backgrounds. Most are Hispanic, but one woman attending the current session is
Albanian and had learned Spanish from her job at a Laundromat. The class costs
$40, which covers materials -- the students go home with copies of the lesson
plan each time, plus worksheets and additional literature. Rinkerman estimates
600 people have completed the hybrid computer/finance training since it began in
2005.

For students, the biggest selling points of the class are the teachers and
the fact that it's taught in Spanish. "They do it in your own language, and they
have so much patience," said Graciela Magarino, 50, of Paterson. "They don't
move on to the next topic until you understand."

Magarino said she signed up for the computer skills because she was feeling
frustrated and uncomfortable at her job at an insurance agency.

When she gets home from the class, Magarino is excited to show her two
daughters what she has learned, she said. She has also been sharing the lessons
with her boss.